


The Parable

by msraven



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, Non-SHIELD AU, birthday fic, detective!Phil, hero!Clint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-17 02:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4648182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msraven/pseuds/msraven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An accidental Samaritan catches the attention of Detective Phil Coulson.</p><p>...Or five times Clint comes to the rescue and one time Phil rescues him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Parable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raiining](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raiining/gifts).



> Couldn't quite get this one posted in time, but I figured that an extra day of celebration is never a bad thing. Happy Birthday raiining!!
> 
> Again un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

**1.The Deli**

"Number 69."

"That's me!"

"No, that's me."

Phil turns to argue with the man behind him, but he's already holding up his ticket, clearly showing the correct number. Phil glances back down at his own ticket and bites back a growl of frustration—he'd inverted the numbers. Not only did Phil just embarrassingly read the wrong number, but now there is no way he has time to wait for his lunch before heading back to the precinct.

"Sorry. My mistake. It's been a long week."

"No worries," the man responds good naturedly. "Not everything can be as fun as 69. Hey Mario! My usual and whatever this guy's having."

"Thank you, but you don't need to—" 

"Nah. Don't worry about it," the man says, waving away Phil's concern as he glances around the crowded deli. "Mario's usually got my order wrapped up in advance, so nobody's gotta wait any longer than if I was a different customer."

True to his word, Mario hands a wrapped sandwich over the deli case a second later. "What will you have?"

"Oh. Ah… a pastrami on rye, please."

"You want kraut?"

"Mario makes the best sauerkraut," Phil's Good Samaritan advises.

"Yes. Sauerkraut would be great."

"Coming right up."

"Put both on my tab, will ya Mario?"

"Sure thing, Clint."

"You really don't have to do that," Phil protests.

The man—Clint—shakes his head, overriding Phil's concern yet again. "When one of New York's finest is having a bad enough week to be reading his numbers wrong, the least I can do is buy him a sandwich."

"Then thank you."

"You're welcome. Hope the rest of your week goes better."

Clint flashes Phil a wide, very attractive, smile and turns to walk out of the deli. Phil can't help noticing broad shoulders, sculpted arms, and an amazing ass while he watches Clint leave.

"That Clint is a nice boy." Years of training keeps Phil from blushing at Mario's knowing look as he hands over Phil's sandwich. "Very good customer. Comes in every Friday."

"Thank you," Phil replies, leaving it to Mario to decipher whether he means the sandwich or the information about Clint. 

He reasons with himself on the walk back to the precinct that it's really not that far from the deli, that stopping in from time to time wouldn't be too out of the way, especially if the food is as good as everyone claims it to be. It's not until Phil is sitting at his desk and taking the first bite out of his truly amazing sandwich, that he realizes he didn't say or do anything that would identify him as a cop.

~^~

**2\. The Bakery**

"Thank goodness for Clinton. If he hadn't been here, those hoodlums would have destroyed my store."

Phil nods silently as the little old lady who owns the bakery finishes her tale. According to Mrs. Humphrey's account, the two teenagers had entered her store brandishing baseball bats and demanded she hand over all the money in the register. She had refused to be intimidated, but the teenagers had only managed to smash one glass case before her savior had come out from the back room. Clinton had thrown a bag of sugar at one teenager, breaking his nose, and then vaulted over the counter to confront the other, easily disarming him. They had then detained the two would-be criminals and called the police. The kids were now sitting in a squad car and looking on in fear as their mother spoke with another officer. 

"Clinton is a good boy. You treat him nicely." Phil looks up from his notepad at Mrs. Humphrey's wagging finger. "He didn't do anything wrong. You be nice or I'll call the mayor. We bake his wife's birthday cake every year."

Phil looks over his shoulder to see what's causing Mrs. Humphrey's ire to raise and startles when he sees that Clinton is actually Clint from the deli. Clint is inside the bakery talking to Phil's partner, Jasper, and looking clearly unhappy. He has his arms crossed defensively and is scowling at whatever Jasper is saying. 

"Clinton is a hero, not a criminal."

"Of course, Mrs. Humphrey," Phil responds. "If you'll excuse me for a moment."

Phil steps inside the bakery as Clint lets out a huff of frustration. "Was I supposed to just let them smash up the store? Mrs. Humphrey can't afford to replace all that glass."

"I understand that you thought you were helping, but in the future, it's best not to confront—"

"I'll take it from here, Jasper."

Both men look over and butterflies flutter in Phil's stomach when Clint's eyes light up in recognition. 

"I've got most of Mrs. Humphrey's statement. Can you go over the process from here and finish up with the uni out front?"

"Sure," Jasper agrees, looking suspiciously between Clint Phil as he leaves. 

"Hi," Clint smiles. 

"It's good to officially meet you, Clint...?"

"Barton. It's nice to see you again, Detective..?"

"Coulson. Phil Coulson. Do you often make a habit of coming to the rescue of little old ladies?"

Clint blushes and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Right place at the right time, I guess. I usually stop by here on my way home Wednesdays. When I know Dominic, Mrs. Humphrey's son, is taking night classes. That's him now."

Clint points out the window to where Mrs. Humphrey is being enveloped in a hug by a young man. When Phil turns back toward him, Clint is frowning warily.

"It's a good neighborhood. We try and watch out for each other."

Phil nods in understanding. "That is both commendable and rare. Mrs. Humphrey was lucky you were in back helping her move the heavy bags of flour when those kids came in."

"You're not going to tell me I should have called you guys and waited?"

"We can't condone assault between any members of the public, but we also understand we can't be everywhere at once. From what Mrs. Humphrey has told me, you were defending her store and only used enough force to subdue the kids before calling it in. You did the right thing, Clint."

Clint blinks in surprise and then smiles, ducking his head shyly. "Thank you."

"Do you have an apartment full of strays too?" Clint tilts his head in confusion at the non-sequitur and Phil lets his smile widen. "Protecting little old ladies and rescuing a tired detective's lunch. You're quite the hero."

"I'm no hero," Clint laughs. "Like I said, right place at the right time."

"You need to give me an opportunity to properly thank you for the sandwich."

Clint's eyes narrow in consideration before they light up with interest as he smirks. "Definitely my pleasure, but if you insist, we could—"

"Phil!" Jasper suddenly interrupts. "We gotta go. Disturbance on fifth. Multiple shots fired."

Phil hurries to follow his partner automatically, only catching himself at the doorway to pause and look back at Clint. He's sure that Clint's frown of disappointment matches the look on Phil's own face as their eyes meet. Clint gives him a small smile and a wave.

"Stay safe, Detective."

~^~

**3\. The Chase**

Phil braces himself as Jasper takes a sharp left turn, swerving around the corner to follow the row of squad cars chasing an armed robbery suspect that had left one man dead and two in the hospital at the last bank he'd hit. 

"Fuck!" Jasper swears as they watch one of squad cars barely avoid a civilian car crossing an intersection. They speed past the near-collision and are now only one car away from the suspect. "This is getting dangerous."

"Maybe that's his plan," Phil scowls as they speed closer to busier neighborhoods. He knows that dispatch has alerted the commissioner of the chase and, if he deems it too dangerous to the public, it's possible they'll be told to break it off.

"No, no, no. Not down fifth! Oh fuck!"

Phil shares Jasper's horror as the suspect attempts to careen around a corner and loses control of his car. The car slides sideways toward the sidewalk where a young woman and a little boy are standing frozen in shock. Then there is a sudden blur of movement and the pair are shoved sideways, away from the path of the car as it slams into the building behind them. Debris rains down on the two and their savior before everything goes still and silent. 

The moment passes and everything erupts into chaos once again as the squad cars screech to a halt by the disabled car. All the officers, including Phil and Jasper, spill out of their vehicles onto the street to secure the scene. Confident that the others have the dazed suspect under control, Phil runs toward the three civilians still huddled a foot away from the car. He finds the young boy looking on in awe at their savior as the woman clings to him in fear. 

"You're okay. You're both okay," the savior says as Phil steps nearer, but the now familiar voice makes him pause a foot away. 

"Clint."

The savior—none other than the repeat hero, Clint Barton—looks over his shoulder at Phil and grins through the dust and debris covering his face. 

"Phil. Um... Detective Coulson. Hi."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. We're good," Clint answers as he stands and brings the young woman up with him. The little boy immediately hides behind her legs, wide eyes staring back and forth between the two men. 

"You saved our lives," the woman says tremulously before throwing her arms tightly around Clint. "Thank you! I can't thank you enough."

Clint stiffens in the woman's arms before patting her back awkwardly. "My pleasure. Uh... I mean, no big deal. Anyone would have done the same."

Phil can't help raising a skeptical eyebrow at Clint's comment. Phil has been on the force long enough to know that most people don't act with the same selflessness that Clint has shown time and again. Before he can dwell on Clint's statement, the woman takes a step back from Clint and immediately sways on her feet, still overwhelmed by what just happened. Clint grabs her arms to keep her steady while her son looks up in horror.

"Momma!"

"She's going into shock," Phil advises as he flags over the EMTs that have just arrived on scene. They gently start to lead the woman and her son toward their waiting ambulance, when the boy suddenly stops and runs back to Clint.

"You are _way_ more awesome than Superman!"

"Uh... Thanks kid," Clint grins and holds out his fist, which the kid promptly bumps, flashing his own grin before running back toward his mom.

"Being a hero seems to be a habit of yours."

"Nah. Just—" 

"Right place at the right time?" Phil asks and Clint once again shrugs like his heroism isn't cause for any praise. "Today was much more than that. You saved their lives and, contrary to what you may believe, few bystanders would risk their lives like you did. Kid's right. You're a hero."

"Thanks, Phil. I mean, Detective Coulson."

"Phil is fine."

"It's really nice to see you again, Phil."

"Likewise," Phil smiles and there is no mistaking the spark of attraction he sees in Clint's eyes. "Would you maybe—"

"Coulson! You need to take a look at what this guy has in his trunk. We need to call in CSI."

Phil looks over at Jasper and then back at Clint, who looks resigned. "Sorry. I have to..."

"Back to work. I understand. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."

"Hopefully not at another crime scene. "

"Yeah," Clint chuckles. "Maybe—"

"Coulson!"

"Sorry. I really have to go. Maybe you should get seen by the EMTs too?"

Clint makes a face and shakes his head. "Nah. I'm good. Go protect and serve."

Phil forces himself to step toward where Jasper is waiting, but takes one last glance over his shoulder. He's surprised to see Clint looking after him with a small smile gracing his face, eyes filled with what looks like pride. Phil smiles in return, his back and shoulders straightening as he gets back to work and puts another criminal behinds bars. His personal life will have to wait.

~^~

**4\. The Precinct**

"Night Phil!"

Phil barely glances up from the paperwork on his desk as Jasper raps on the wood and leaves for the evening. It's been a fairly slow week and Phil is determined to get through as much of his backlog before the weekend. With any luck, he'll be free to stake out the deli on Friday and ask Clint out on a date for Saturday night. 

"Detective Coulson?"

Phil bites back a sigh at the interruption and looks up, unable to stop his gasp of surprise. Standing over his desk, biting his lip nervously, is Clint.

"Clint!"

Clint's nervousness melts away at Phil's enthusiastic greeting. "Hi Phil. Um... I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"No. What are you doing here?" Phil winces at his own rudeness and tries again. "I mean, it's nice to see you. I just wasn't expecting you here."

"I was hoping you meant what you said. That you wanted to see me again. Detective Sitwell gave me his card at the bakery and it seemed less creepy to come here versus calling. Though now it feels a little stalker-ish, but you seem glad to see me, so..." Clint shrugs—a move that Phil is quickly starting to think of as endearingly adorable—and gives Phil a hopeful smile. "I was hoping you'd be interested in having coffee with me sometime. When you're not working."

"I'm not."

Clint's shoulders droop and Phil realizes his faux pas. It's been a long time since Phil has been interested in anyone, let alone someone as good looking as Clint, and he struggles against the unfamiliar feeling of awkwardness in order to stop putting his foot in his mouth.

"I meant that I'm not working right now. I was just trying to catch up on some backlog. Coffee sounds great."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'd actually planned on stopping by the deli tomorrow in an attempt to run into you."

"Wow. To see me?" Clint looks completely surprised that Phil would make the effort, which Phil doesn't understand at all.

"Of course, to see you. Any chance you're free to grab that coffee now?"

Clint smiles bashfully and nods. "Yeah. I'm free for the rest of the night."

"So am I. Shall we?"

Clint nods again, but just as Phil is standing and grabbing his coat, there is a loud commotion on one end of squad room. Two officers lose their hold on a handcuffed suspect, who growls and charges toward another cuffed man. One of the officers lunges forward and, before anyone else can react, a chair slides across the floor to knock the suspect's legs out from underneath him. The two men land in a heap while other detectives and officers jump into the fray. 

Phil traces the chair's trajectory and ends up looking across his desk to find an empty space where Jasper's chair once stood. Next to the space is Clint, who gives Phil the same, adorably sheepish shrug. 

"Oops?"

Phil can't help but chuckle and shake his head at the odds of Clint playing hero once again. He has a feeling that life with Clint is never going to get boring.

"How about you focus on rescuing the rest of our evening?" Phil says and gestures, beyond where the suspect is now being led away, to the door. "Let's get out of here before someone decides I need to get involved in that mess."

Clint grins and nods, motioning for Phil to precede him. Phil quickly leads Clint out of the precinct and down to the small cafe a few blocks away. The other cops tend to frequent the bar or diner closer to the station, which is why Phil often opts for the quiet of the cafe. 

"I have to confess," Phil says once they're seated at a secluded table by the window, "I don't normally do this kind of thing."

"Drink coffee? Or go on dates with men you barely know?"

"I wish I could say the former. Maybe you can help me out with the latter by telling me more about you. What do you do?"

"Oh. Uh..." Clint's cheeks pink and he rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I kind of work for Tony Stark."

"Kind of?"

"It not. Well... It's not really what you'd call a normal job."

A myriad of possibilities scroll through Phil's mind, none of them good or legal. He is too shocked to hide his thoughts and Clint blinks at him and then laughs.

"No! Nothing like that. It's embarrassing because most of my friends have real jobs, like you. My job is on the up and up, but it's... unusual."

"Unusual, I can handle."

"I'm, ah, a medieval weapons expert. I design weapons for Stark's games and movies. As fantastical as Tony's ideas usually are, he likes them all to have a touch of realism. He says it's the difference that's made him the billionaire he is today. According to him, I help him with that."

"A medieval weapons expert?" Phil asks, leaning forward with interest. He's seen a few of the films that have come out of Stark Productions and he has to admit that part of what held his interest was how he could almost believe what was happening on screen could be fact instead of fiction. "How does one become that?"

Clint matches Phil's lean toward the center of the table. "Would you believe it was a natural progression?"

"From what?"

"From my joining the circus when I was eight."

Phil's eyebrows go up, but he doesn't lean away. Clint's eyes are equal parts challenge and wariness—waiting to see if Phil really is okay with the unusual. Phil has no doubt that Clint is telling the truth, nor does he need to know about Clint's past to see that life with him has likely never been or will be dull. He welcomes the thrill that runs down his spine at becoming a part of it.

"Tell me more."

~^~

**5\. The Apartment**

Phil kisses Clint's bare shoulder and smiles against his skin when Clint mumbles his name sleepily and leans into Phil's touch. He stays there for another moment before rising reluctantly from the edge of the bed with a sigh. As much as he'd love to crawl back under the sheets with Clint, Phil is due at the precinct in a half hour. Phil had gotten in late the night before, after closing a difficult case with Jasper, and been pleasantly surprised to find Clint waiting up for him with lasagna warming in the oven. With luck, Phil can be home early enough tonight to spend some real time with Clint.

He climbs into his car for the drive to the work, still smiling at the memory of Clint's warm welcome home. Phil feels extremely lucky to have found someone so willing to deal with his crazy work schedule, but never wants to take advantage of Clint's understanding nature. He doesn't want to risk losing this. The six months they've been dating has been the happiest in Phil's recent memory. He's actually been debating the idea of asking Clint to move in with him, but worries that it may be too soon and result in scaring Clint away.

The precinct comes into view and Phil pushes the negative thoughts out of his head. He doesn't expect Jasper to wave frantically at him as he pulls up to the curb before jumping into the car.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have your scanner on?"

"No. Why?" Phil asks as he reaches for the scanner, only to be waved away by Jasper.

"Don't worry about that now. Just drive."

"Where am I going?"

"Back to you apartment. Call came through dispatch asking for crowd control. Your building's on fire."

"What?!"

Phil doesn't bother asking for more details as he screeches back onto the street, thankful that the traffic is still light for this time of morning. He can still feel Clint's sleep-warm skin against his lips and presses harder on the gas pedal, getting back in half the time it took to get to the precinct.

There are two engines spraying water onto the fourth floor of his building and Phil can just see flames licking at one of the apartment windows. Phil knows that particular apartment is empty, the landlord completing renovations between tenants, and the fire thankfully looks contained to the empty apartment. Unfortunately, the rest of the floor, including Phil's apartment, looks engulfed in equally dangerous smoke. Jasper goes to help deal with the crowd control while Phil flashes his badge and rushes toward his neighbors grouped together on the sidewalk, frantically looking for Clint.

"What happened? Is everyone out of the building?"

"I don't know," Craig, one of the third floor tenants answers. "I was asleep when your new roommate pounded on my door, yelling that the fire alarms weren't working. He said he had the third floor covered and to wake the other floors, so I did."

"Last I saw him, he was still knocking on doors. I started to help, but he told me to help Mr. Crusoe down the stairs."

Phil turns back toward the building just as two fireman burst through the front doors, leading Anna Hinkel and her kids out. Directly behind them carrying little Jamie Hinkel—his small leg casted from foot to mid-thigh—is Clint. They are all coughing and are led directly to the waiting EMTs.

"Clint!" Phil cries as he jogs over, showing his badge again to be let through. He gathers Clint into his arms and hugs him tightly as Clint coughs into his shoulder.

"We got everyone out."

"I know. I'm so glad you're okay."

"We're all glad you were here, Clint," Anna chimes in. "It could have been much worse without you raising the alarm."

"I heard you leave," Clint explains without Phil asking, before breaking off in another cough, frustrating the EMT who was trying to put an oxygen mask over his face. "Then I thought I smelled smoke and went to check it out. I realized the sprinklers weren't working and neither was the alarm I pulled in the hallway."

"There were electricians working on that apartment this afternoon when I brought the kids home from school. Maybe that was the cause of all of this."

"That'll be for the Fire Marshall and the landlord to figure out," Phil replies, wrapping an arm around Clint to keep him still. The EMT finally succeeds in getting the mask on Clint despite his rolled yes. "I guess your hero days aren't quite over."

"Yeah!"

"You're our hero, Clint!"

"You're a superhero!" 

Clint ducks his head at the Hinkel kids' praise, his response muffled by the mask. "It's not a big deal."

"We'll have to all agree to disagree with you on that," Phil says and uses his arm to pull Clint tighter to his side. He looks up at the building, wondering how much of his belongings will be salvageable after the smoke damage. 

"Would it be taking advantage of a bad situation if I ask you to move in with me?" Phil turns back to gape at Clint, who smiles and shrugs. "You don't have to. I just... I've been meaning to ask. But... You know what? Forget I said anything. It's too soon, right? It's okay, I get it. My apartment's too small anyway, I—"

Phil puts his finger to Clint's lips to stop the rest of his words. "It's not too soon, but yes, your apartment is too small for both of us."

"So... yeah?"

"Yes, I'll move in with you. I'd been thinking about it too and, if it wasn't already clear, I love you Clint Barton."

"Feeling's mutual, Detective Coulson."

A blinding smile splits across Clint's face and Phil can't help giving him a quick kiss before putting the oxygen mask back in place with a firm stare. "Now you're going to keep this mask on and let the EMTs take care of you." 

Clint's pout is still discernible through the mask and Phil swats his hands away as they reach up once again with a shake of his head.

"Be a good example for the kids," Phil reminds him. "After all, you're their hero."

~^~

**+1. The Policeman's Ball**

"What exactly does Clint do again?"

"He's a weapons designer for Stark Productions—both the game and movie divisions," Phil answers Maria as they watch Clint walk away from them towards the bar. He'd offered to get them all drinks even though he is the designated driver for the night.

"How does he come by those arms, shoulders, and other… assets?"

"He's still a competitive archer and has a best friend who runs an MMA gym. Eyes off my fiance, Maria."

"What? I wasn't going to touch. You can't blame me for looking."

Maria's right, Phil really can't blame her for looking. Clint looks especially gorgeous tonight in his tuxedo, his jacket shed soon after they finished dinner. Being friends with Tony Stark means that Clint's pants, vest, and shirt are perfectly tailored, perfectly showcasing the assets Maria is currently coveting. They watch as Clint leans against the bar enticingly before throwing a knowing wink over his shoulder.

Maria chuckles and Phil forces him to turn away from ogling his fiance. 

"How about you? Any luck on the dating front?"

Maria groans before launching into some of her most recent horror stories. Phil listens and tries to sympathize, even though he's absurdly glad that he'd managed to avoid the online dating scene. He's internally debating whether he should risk introducing Maria to Clint's best friend, Natasha, when Jasper steps up and points his martini glass toward the bar.

"I think your boy's in need of a rescue."

Phil glances over and, sure enough, Clint has been cornered by the mayor's wife. She has her hand on Clint's arm and is leaning forward so that her ample cleavage is well within view. Clint is clearly trying to be polite, but his back is against the bar with no avenue for escape and his smile is twisted into a pained grimace.

"I'll be right back, " Phil says and starts weaving his way through the crowd. He smoothly steps past the mayor's wife, reaching between her and Clint to pick up his drink from the bar. It creates enough space between them so that Phil can wrap an arm around Clint's waist before turning back to the woman in front of them.

"Hello Mrs. Johnson. I see you've met my fiance, Clint."

Mrs. Johnson's jaw drops and her eyes nearly bug out of her face as she sputters and looks between Phil and Clint. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before wisely deciding that there is nothing she can say that won't become a PR nightmare. She storms off in a huff and Clint sags against Phil's side in relief.

"Thank you. I didn't know how to make her go away."

"You're welcome. I should have warned you about her in advance. She's pretty infamous for hitting on all the young officers. Can't really blame her, you're pretty irresistible."

Clint laughs and gives Phil a kiss on the cheek.

"My hero!"

**~ _fin_ ~**


End file.
